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CLEVELAND, OH (January 29, 2013) — Cleveland Play House (CPH) has expanded its geographical reach of their new education initiative in only its second year, thanks in part to support from University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. The Classroom Matinee Touring Program, featuring Margie and Mike, a new children’s play based on theme of class and race from CPH’s Mainstage production of Good People, is a one-hour performance and interactive question and answer session. This touring program and the accompanying educational workshop tours directly to schools in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania beginning January 7 through May 31, 2013. The play features a company of two local, professional actors and is written and directed by Pamela DiPasquale, CPH Education Director. All performances of the touring production are for K to 4th grade students and the price is determined on a sliding fee scale. For more information and school booking, contact DiPasquale at 216.400.7060 orpdipasquale@clevelandplayhouse.com.

“Margie and Mike offers children an extraordinary opportunity to experience some of the themes of our Mainstage season through a play written specifically for K-4,” says CPH Artistic Director Michael Bloom. “We’re proud to have the support of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital for this program, in the spirit of serving the needs of children throughout the region.”

In the initiative’s inaugural year in 2012 with Man and the Moon, based on themes from the CPH Mainstage production of August Wilson’s Radio Golf, the program reached more than 7,500 students across 19 Ohio counties; for 2013, the Classroom Matinee Touring Program visits three states. The story of Margie and Mike tackles themes of class, race and economic inequality stemming from themes in CPH’s Mainstage production of David Lindsay-Abaire's Tony® nominated play, Good People, which will be running in the Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare from March 22 - April 14, 2013.

A school’s multipurpose rooms are first transformed into a theatre, where the students get to watch a performance of Margie and Mike. The play centers around eight year old Margie, who has a lot of wants. The problem is, Margie's dad is working pretty hard to earn enough money just to meet her needs and there just isn't enough left-over for all of those wants. One day a new family moves into the house next door and Margie is pretty sure that she counted at least eight bookshelves and three toy boxes as they were carried off of the truck. Surely her new neighbor, Mike doesn't need or want for anything. As Margie and Mike come to be friends, they discover a lot about each other, their circumstances and what is truly important in life.

After the 60-minute performance, our artists visit each classroom and engage the students in a deeper understanding of the play, allowing them to explore social studies through theatre-based activities. The discussion is about many of the issues discovered by students in the play, such as economic exchange, economic scarcity, and financial literacy. CPH educators examined the 2010 Social Studies Ohio Content Standards (exploring both Government and Economics strands) and developed arts integrated lesson plans for students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade.

Lincoln Elementary School, who participated in the program last year, commented, "The students were engaged throughout the whole experience. It was not only fun and entertaining, but more importantly, it covered many of the Ohio Academic Standards, both for language arts and social studies."